Container



Aug. 15, 1944. w. H. INMAN 2,355,729

' CONTAINER Filed April 15, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheeti Aug. 15, 1944. w. H.INMAN 2,355,729

I CONTAINER Filed April 15, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 15, 1944UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONTAINER William H. Inman, Newark, N. Y.,assignor to Bloomer Bros. Company, Newark, N. Y., a corporation of NewYork Application April 15, 1942, Serial No. 439,074

2 Claims. (CL 229-26) This invention relates to containers, or cartons,made from a blank of cardboard, or similar material, cut, scored andfolded to form an erected container adapted, for example, for holdingliquid or semi-liquid materials such as ice cream, oysters, and thelike. One object of the invention is to provide such containers withimproved handle and closure means formed efficiently and inexpensivelyfrom the carton material itself and without separately formedattachments of metal or other relatively expensive materials.

Another object is to provide a container of the character describedhaving flap portions capable of being raised to serve as carryinghandles, or of being compactly folded down flat across the top of thecontainer to serve as top closure flaps when the containers are stackedtogether for transportation, or separately transported in a paper bag.

A further object is to provide such containers with improved handle andclosure locking means each arranged to operate with maximum strengthindependently of any pull of one against the other.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvementsand combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the endof the specification.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a plan view of a blank cut and scored formaking a container embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the erected container with itstop closure flaps in raised or open position;

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of parts shown in Fig. 2 but with theinner closure flaps folded down;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the closed container with flapportions raised for use as handles;

Fig. 5 is a similar View but showing the flap Darts folded down;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the container, partly in section, arrangedas in Fig. 4 but with the handle portions removed;

Fig. '7 is a top plan view of the container as arranged in Fig. 5, and

Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation on the line 8a8a in Fig. 7.

The invention is embodied in the present instance, by way ofillustration, in a type of container, or carton, known as a pail, andcomm n employed for holding ice. cream, oysters and the like. It ispreferably made from a blank such as shown in Fig. 1, out and scored forfolding to form a rectangular bottom Ill and tapered side walls ll, I2,l3 and M. The adjacent side walls, at each corner of the carton, areintegrally connected by'folding portions [5 and It having an interposedscore line ll for folding on each other.

One pair of opposite side walls l2 and M are integrally extended'attheir tops to provide inner top closure flaps l8 and I9 foldable aboutscore lines 20 and 2|. Each of these inner flaps is preferably providedon each of its sides with relatively narrow wings, as at 22 and 23,foldable about score lines 24 and 25. The corner fold portions adjacenteach of the inner flaps l8 and I9 are extended outwardly to formauxiliary top flaps 26 and 21, foldable about score lines 28 and 29, andseparated by cuts from the wings 22 and 23, similar parts being providedon the opposite side of the blank adjacent the flap I9.

The other pair of side walls H and I3 are each extended outwardly toprovide outer top closure flaps 30 and 3| folding about score lines 32and 33. Each of these outer flaps has an interior portion cut out bylines of severance, as 34 and 35 having their inner ends terminating atthe score line 32 and their outer ends connected by a cut 36 ofappreciable width, as shown. This construction forms an outer handlesection 31 and a separate, inner locking section 38. Section 38 has acut extending transversely from its outer edge to its center line andthe inner edge of the cut projects beyond the outer edge to provide astop shoulder 40 for a purpose to be presently explained. A similarconstruction is employed for the opposite flap 3| with its handlesection 4| and its locking section 42, except that the looking cut 43 ofsection 42 extends in a direction opposite to that of cut 39 of section38. To hold the carton in erected position, side walls II and I3 areprovided with glue areas as at 44 and 45 and certain of the foldingcorner portions have glue areas 46 and 4'! for the same purpose, as morefully explained hereafter. Each of the handle sections 31 and 4| ispreferably supplied with glue as at the areas 48 and 49 shown on section31.

In folding the above blank to erect, the carton, the side walls H to l4,inclusive, are folded upwardly as shown in Fig. 2. The folding portionsl5 and I6 at each corner are folded outwardly as the side walls areerected and then folded, in overlapping relation, against the side wallsII and I3 and secured in such folded position by the glue areas 44, 45-and 46. The auxiliary flaps 26 and 21, extending upwardly from thefolding corner portions, are secured to the outer flaps 30 and 3| by theglue areas 48 and 49, the parts then occupying positions substantiallyas shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, with the top flaps raised so thatthe contents of the carton are readily accessible.

To close the carton, the inner flaps l8 and 19 are foldedinwa'rdly anddownwardly about the score lines 20 and 2|, with their wings 22 and 23folded upwardly and their outer ends overlapping, substantially as shownin Fig. 3, so as to the pull applied to them is a force of the tensionalcharacter which they are best adapted to resist.

effectively close the top of the carton, the wings 22 and 23 serving toproduce a tighter joint at the edges of flaps I8 and [9. If it isdesired to leave the handle sections'30 and 31' raised for use intransporting the carton, the locking secone'to Weaken the other.

tions 38 and 42 are then folded inwardly and downwardly about the scorelines 32 and 33 extending along the adjacent top corners'of the carton,these locking sections being thus foldable independently of the handlesections. As these locking sections are folded downwardly, they engageand fold downwardly also the wings 22 and 23 and the locking sectionsare brought down in overlapping relation with each other against theinner flaps I8 and H]. In approaching this position the rounded outerend of one looking section, as 38, is inserted through thetransverse-cut, as 43, in the opposite section until shoulder 40 isstopped by engagement with the inner end of the out 43, when theoppositely extending cuts interengage each other, as best shown in Figs.6, 7 and 8, and the sections are securely interlocked with each otheracross the inner flaps l8 and [9 so as to hold them tightly closed.

In the arrangement just described, the handle sections 30 and 3| willremain erect, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and may be folded about scorelines 32 and 33, so as to extend in a substantially straight lineinwardly and upwardly from their bases at the carton corners, intoproximity with each other at their outer ends, to serve as handles forthe carton, as shown in Fig. 4. In this arrangement, it will be notedthat the handle sections are independent of the looking sections, sothat the weight of the carton on the handle sections has no tendency toincrease the tensionon the locking sections nor to disengage nor tearthem. At the same time, each of the handle sections extends in asubstantially straight line from the top of the adjacent reinforced sidewall to the top of the other'section and the point at which they aregrasped, thus applying the pull on the sections, not as a shearing butas a tensile stress. As the material of the blank is strongest inresistance to tensile pull, the handle sections, attached to theirreinforced side walls, are adapted to afford a particularly strong andrugged construction, which is fully adequate to resist any usage towhich the handles are likely to be subjected, while the top' closureremains securely closed and locked. I

In case it is desired to compactly stack a quantity of the cartons in acrate for transportation,

or to carry the cartons separately in paper bags, as sometimes desired,the handle sections may be folded down and secured flat against theinnerclosure flaps I8 and I9, soas to form outer and additional closurevflaps. In this arrangement, Figs. 5 and 7, the handle sections 31 and;are folded down, in overlapping relation with each other, against theinner flaps l8 and!!! and the locking sections 38 and 42 are then foldedinwardly and downwardly over the outer flaps 31 76 The handle sectionsand locking sections are foldable and perform their functionsindependently of each other,'s o that there is no tendency of a pull onThe ingenious arrangement of the parts enables the top of the carton tobe closed and locked with the handle sections either raised for use incarrying the carton, or else compactly folded across the carton topunder the locking section so as to serve as outer and additional closureflaps. These advantageous features are furnished, furthermore, byintegral portions of the material of the blank itself, formedeconomically as the blank is died out of the stock, thereby eliminatingthe necessity for separately formed and attached handle or fasteningmeans formed of metal or other relatively expensive materials.

While the invention is herein disclosed in a preferred embodiment, it isto be understood that such disclosure is intended in an illustrativerather than a limiting sense, as it is contemplated that variousmodifications in the construction and arrangement of the parts willoccur to those skilled in the art within the scope of the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. A carton made from a one-piece blank of foldable sheet material andhaving a bottom and four side walls, folded integrally upwardlytherefrom and integrally connected with each other by corner portionsfolded outwardly in overlapping pairs and glued to a pair of oppositeside walls to reinforce the same, the other side walls having flaps attheir tops folded inwardly to form inner top closure flaps provided attheir opposite sides with upwardly and inwardly folded wings, saidopposite side walls having outer flaps integrally folded from the topsthereof along the adjacent corners of the carton, said blank beingimperforate below the tops of said side walls, each of said outer flapscomprising a handle section and a locking section separate from eachother at all points above said corner fold line, said handle sectionsbeing each of less width than the top of the carton and adapted eitherfor inclination inwardly and upwardly adjacent each other at theirouterends to serve as handles for the carton, or for folding downwardlyin overlapping relation against said inner flaps to serve as closureflaps, said. handle sections being formed of material extendingintegrally-round said first pair of side walls and bottom to providestrong support for said carton; and'said locking sections being adaptedto be folded inwardly either over said inner flaps or over said handlesections when folded downwardly and =being provided with meansforinterlocking engagement with each other to secure said flaps inclosed position.

29A carton made from foldable sheet material and" having a bottom andfour side walls, folded integrally upwardly therefrom adjacent sidwallsbeingintegrally connected at each corner therebetween by outwardlyfolded portions secured in overlapping pairs against opposite sidewalls, inner top closure flap means on the other side walls, saidopposite side walls being integrally extended at their tops to providouter flanges folded inwardly at the tops of said walls.

along the corners of the carton, said blank being imperforate below thetops of said side walls, each of said outer flaps having an interiorportion cut out by severance lines terminating at said carton corners toform an outer handle section and a separately foldable, inner lockingsection, said handle sections being foldabl to x tend in a substantiallystraight line inwardly and upwardly from said carton corners intoproximity with each other at their outer ends to serve as cartonhandles, and flaps on said folded portions attached to said handlesections to secure

